In-line skating continues to grow in popularity for use in a variety of recreational and sporting activities. This popularity corresponds to increasingly sophisticated consumers who are constantly seeking and demanding increased performance capabilities for their skates under a variety of extreme conditions. Ramp skaters demand durable, strong, and lightweight skates which will respond to the slightest physical directional movement on ramp surfaces that drop off in dramatic angles of descent and inclination. Outdoor and indoor hockey players alike prefer tough, durable, lightweight, and performance yielding skates which respond to the playing style and demands of an aggressive and rough sport. Further, skaters want skates that have custom performance capabilities on multiple surfaces and in multiple sporting arenas.
Unfortunately, the best performing outdoor surface skates may not be the same skates that give the best results on indoor surfaces. For example, some skaters in some activities prefer a low skate frame profile (the skate platform's vertical distance from the floor) and a specific number of wheels. The skate profile plays an important role in both the aesthetic appearance of the skate and important performance characteristics attributed to the profile. For example, a higher profile will yield a higher center of gravity ("C.sub.g ") than a lower frame profile. Generally, performance-driven skaters prefer lower skate profiles because this type of design provides more control and improved handling than higher skate profiles.
Thus, in one situation, a skater may prefer a skate with a low profile and a lesser number of wheels such as three wheels, while in another sport prefer a skate with six wheels--or even ice blades instead of wheels--depending on the activity and the playing environment. These different requirements can force players either to purchase multiple pairs of skates or play with skates which have some interchangeability feature but which typically compromise their performance on one or more of the playing surfaces.
Most in-line skates include a boot attached to a frame assembly which supports the axles and wheels of the roller skate. Therefore, in order to change the configuration of the skate, the skater must somehow change-out or replace the frame or certain components thereof which contain the support for the axles and wheels in order to produce the desired configuration. These changeable components should be able to be securely attached and reattached in a repeated use environment. However, because many players change-out their skates on the sidelines during competitions, and repeat these changeouts over and over, many attachment devices, such as threaded members, wear prematurely. In addition, because many of these players carry their skates and replacement components into the locker rooms and game to game, it is desirable to minimize the tools and the number and size of pieces which must be employed to yield an "interchangeable" skate and associated replacement parts.
Although several skates propose an interchangeability feature, many do so in an unwieldy and performance impacting manner. Further, many of the combination skates merely configure the boot istself to releasably engage into different relatively large, separate, and even complex frame assemblies.
Examples of "interchangeable" or combination skates include the skate designs proposed in U.S. Pat. No. 5,193,827 to Olson, U.S. Pat. No. 4,932,675 to Olson et al., U.S. Pat. No. 4,666,169 to Hamill et al., U.S. Pat. No. 4,657,265 to Ruth, and U.S. Pat. No. 5,314,199 to Olson et al. However, these designs generally include a boot-to-frame interchange feature, disadvantageously requiring a large part of the frame to be changed in order to provide alternative skate configurations. For example, Olson '827 proposes a boot with downwardly extending protrusions (the front one having an interlocking notch) which are received into corresponding recesses in the blade support assembly and which lock together via a rotating cam device. As proposed, the boot can be inserted into a roller or ice skate blade assembly platform. Unfortunately, this interlocking boot configuration can induce an undesirable higher skate profile, and may also necessitate a potentially costly, time consuming, and inefficient frame sub-assembly changeout.
One partial solution is offered in co-pending and co-assigned U.S. Patent Application entitled, "Toe Plate with Dual Flanges for In-Line Skate Frame", (Attorney Docket Number 5565-3), filed concurrently herewith, which discloses an in-line dual flange sidewall skate frame. The disclosure of which is incorporated herein by reference. The dual flange configuration employs side walls which can be interchanged side to side and also which can be singularly replaced in the event of breakage. This design also offers responsive-handling performance characteristics. Unfortunately, the side wall attachment bolts can be exposed to repeated wear and tear by impatient players in sometimes inhospitable environments. Additionally, the sidewall configuration can require additional time to remove and reattach the plurality of transversely inserted threaded components which securely attach the side wall members to the frame and, ultimately, to the boot.